According to quotes in the Daily Mail, Riyad Mahrez has said he’s honoured to have caught the interest of Arsene Wenger amid reports Arsenal are lining-up a £40m bid for the want-away Leicester City attacker.

Wenger is gearing-up for a busy summer in the market as he looks to revamp his squad after missing out on the top four and speculation has suggested he’ll renew his interest in Mahrez.

We were strongly linked with a move for the Algerian international last summer before he opted to stay at Leicester for another year but he’s set to leave after handing in a written transfer request.

The Sun reported earlier this month that Wenger was set to launch a £40m bid to sign Mahrez after confirming his interest in the attacker and hinting that he could make a move to sign the player this summer.

Wenger was quoted as saying by The Sun:

“We have not made a bid for him but personally I like the player, yes.

“I think he had a huge impact at Leicester when they won the championship, like everybody else.

“It’s been a different season this year but it doesn’t take anything away from his qualities.

“Have we made a bid for him? No. Not yet. Not yet means it could happen, it could not happen.”

Mahrez has now responded to the comments by saying that he’s honoured to have received such compliments from a manager as prestigious as Wenger but insists no offer has been made as yet.

Mahrez is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail:

‘It is an honour to receive compliments like this from such a big manager in world football, but there is a big difference between words, speculation and an offer’

‘There is nothing on the table at the moment. As he went on to say, there is nothing concrete, so I will not dwell on that too much yet.’

We’ll have to wait and see if Wenger decides to formalise his interest with a concrete bid but I think Mahrez would be an excellent addition to the squad if we could lure him to the Emirates.

The 26-year-old failed to replicate the kind of form last season that saw him named the PFA Player of the Year in 2016 when he played a key role in helping Leicester win the title but he’s obviously still a huge talent.

He scored 17 goals and provided 10 assists during the Foxes shock title winning campaign so if we could get him back to his best then he’d be a superb signing for us.